Chudes in Folklore
In Russian folk legends, the Chudes were described as exalted and beautiful. One characteristic of the Chudes was 'white-eyed', which means light-color eyes.
Sorrowful Russian folk songs reminisce about the destruction of the Chudes when the Slavs were occupying their territories. When a Chude township was attacked, Chude women made themselves drown into the river with their jewels and children, in order not to be subjected to robbery or despoiling.
In the chronicles which narrate about the founding of Russia, the Chudes are mentioned as one of the founder races, with the Slav and the Varyags (Varangians).
Folk etymology derives the word from Old East Slavic language (chuzhoi, 'foreign'; or chudnoi 'odd'; or chud 'weird'), or alternatively from chudnyi, wonderful, miraculous, excellent, attractive.
Chudes are traditional generic villains in some Sami legends, as well as in the Sami-language movie Pathfinder from 1987, which is loosely based on such legends.
Other sources suggest that ancient Chuds spoke a Finnic language similar to the Veps language.
Read more about this topic: Chud
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